United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (UN OIOS) 22 Jun 2005 report titled "Audit of Operations in Austria [AR2005-121-03]" relating to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The report runs to 10 printed pages.

Simple text version follows

UNITED NATIONS
Office of Internal Oversight Services
UNHCR Audit Service
Assignment AR2005/121/03 22 June 2005
Audit Report R05/R012
AUDIT OF UNHCR OPERATIONS IN AUSTRIA
Auditor:
Nikolai Grigoriev
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UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES
Office of Internal Oversight Services
UNHCR Audit Service
AUDIT OF UNHCR OPERATIONS IN AUSTRIA (AR2005/121/03)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In February 2005, OIOS conducted an audit of UNHCR Operations in Austria. The audit covered
activities with a total expenditure of US$ 0.7 million in 2003 and 2004. A summary of preliminary
findings and recommendations was shared with the Representative in February 2005, on which
comments were received in March 2005. A draft audit report was shared with the Representative
and the Director of the Bureau for Europe and was copied to the Financial Resources Service in
May 2005, on which comments were received in June 2005 and reflected in the final report. The
Representative and the Financial Resources Service have accepted all of the recommendations
contained in the final report and are in the process of implementing them.
Overall Assessment
� OIOS assessed the UNHCR Operation in Austria as above average. Overall, it was well run,
and although some weaknesses in the application of internal controls were identified, the
weaknesses concerned were not sufficiently critical to compromise the overall system of
internal control.
Programme Management
� For the implementing partner CARITAS, reasonable assurance could be taken that UNHCR
funds were properly accounted for and disbursed in accordance with the Sub-Project
Agreements. However, CARITAS could further enhance reporting on progress against
indicators.
� UNHCR funds totalling US$ 1.1 million from repaid housing loans were still with the
Austrian Integration Fund (AIF). Extra efforts are needed to transfer the amount to a
UNHCR account so that it could eventually be used to finance refugee related projects
outside Austria.
� According to the information submitted by AIF, the outstanding loans in 2003 amounted to
some US$ 0.8 million. Note 11 to the UNHCR Financial Statements in 2003 and earlier,
mentioned an amount of US$ 4,105,000 under the heading "Loans made to refugees" having
been transferred to the Austrian Ministry of Interior. This amount is misleading as it reflects
the loan balances on UNHCR accounts as of 1988 when they were transferred to the Austrian
government. Hence, as recommended by the Board of Auditors in their 2003 and 2004
Management Letters, there was a need to correct the Notes to the Financial Statements.
� The level of Austrian contributions to UNHCR was low in comparison to other EU countries
and called for more persistent actions by UNHCR. A comprehensive fundraising strategy for
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Austria and a joint action plan for the implementation of the 30 per cent base level model
still need to be developed.
� The Representation did not perform financial monitoring visits to the implementing partner.
The recommendation of the Board of Auditors on the late signing of Sub-Project Agreements
was yet to be implemented. Delays in submission of Sub-Project Monitoring Reports reached
up to 3 � months.
Supply Management
� The Representation did not keep a list of all procurement actions undertaken by the office.
Since 1997, the Representation has been hiring the same IT expert; yet there was no contract
for the provision of the information technology services.
Security and Safety
� The Representation generally complied with UN security and safety requirements.
However, the location of the Representation in a separate building too close to the
perimeter fence of the Vienna International Centre is not in accordance with the Minimum
Operational Security Standards (MOSS). Negotiations on the relocation to the main
complex need to be speeded-up.
Administration
� In the areas of administration and finance, the Representation in Austria generally complied with
UNHCR's regulations, rules, policies and procedures and controls were operating effectively
during the period under review. Further strengthening of internal controls was required in the
area of financial signing authority.
June 2005
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER Paragraphs
I. INTRODUCTION 1-4
II. AUDIT OBJECTIVES 5
III. AUDIT SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY 6-7
IV. AUDIT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
A. Review of Implementing Partners 8-9
B. Other Programme Issues 10-19
C. Supply Management 20
D. Security and Safety 21
E. Administration 22
V. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 23
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I. INTRODUCTION
1. From 30 January to 7 February 2005, OIOS conducted an audit of UNHCR's
Operations in Austria. The audit was conducted in accordance with the International
Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing. OIOS reviewed the activities of
the UNHCR Representation in Vienna and of its implementing partner CARITAS.
2. The last internal and external audits were conducted in 1996 and 1999 respectively.
Internal control weaknesses were noted over programme management, implementing partners
monitoring and supply management.
3. The total number of refugees in Austria was over 18,000 at the end of 2004. At the
same time, the cases of more than 38,000 individuals were pending decision in the asylum
procedure in one of the three instances. They are expected to benefit from the lasting impact
of precedent-setting court decisions, authoritative reiteration of UNHCR positions and
principles, capacity building of service providers and strengthening of joint Government-
NGO management structures. In addition, UNHCR Austria assists, on an annual basis,
approximately 1,000 � 1,500 asylum seekers from various countries, who are being denied
adequate standards of protection in Austria. UNHCR Austria also performs a liaison function
with OSCE.
4. The findings and recommendations contained in this report have been discussed with
the officials responsible for the audited activities during the Exit Conference held on 7
February 2005. A summary of preliminary audit findings and recommendations was shared
with the Representative in February 2005, on which comments were received in March 2005.
A draft audit report was sent to the Representative and to the Director of the Bureau for
Europe and copied to the Financial Resources Service in May 2005, whose comments were
received in June 2005 and reflected in the final report. The Representation and the Financial
Resources Service have accepted all of the audit recommendations made in the final report
and are in the process of implementing them.
II. AUDIT OBJECTIVES
5. The main objectives of the audit were to evaluate the adequacy and effectiveness of
controls to ensure:
� Reliability and integrity of financial and operational information;
� Effectiveness and efficiency of operations;
� Safeguarding of assets; and
� Compliance with regulations and rules, Letters of Instruction and Sub-agreements.
III. AUDIT SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY
6. The audit focused on projects 03 & 04/AB/AUS/LS/400 and covered activities
implemented by CARITAS � expenditure US$ 192,000. We also reviewed activities directly
implemented by UNHCR with expenditure of US$ 105,000. The audit reviewed the
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administration of the Representation in Vienna with administrative expenditures totalling US$
440,000 for the years 2003 and 2004 and assets (as recorded on Headquarters AssetTrak) with
an acquisition value of US$ 180,000 and a current value of US$ 23,000. As of July 2004,
there were 4 Professional and 6 General Service staff members working in UNHCR Vienna.
The Protection Assistant (Airport) post was 50 per cent co-financed by the Austrian
Government.
7. The audit activities included a review and assessment of internal control systems,
interviews with staff, analysis of applicable data and a review of the available documents and
other relevant records.
IV. AUDIT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
A. Review of the Implementing Partner CARITAS
8. For the Implementing Partner reviewed, reasonable assurance could be taken that
UNHCR funds were properly accounted for and disbursed in accordance with the Sub-Project
Agreements. OIOS assessed that internal controls of CARITAS were generally in place.
However, OIOS identified areas where some improvements were required.
9. OIOS reviewed the reporting of progress against indicators in the main project
documents and noted that it was not clear whether the figures of asylum seekers included
members of refugees' families. OIOS recommended that the consistency of the terminology in
the planning and reporting documents should be observed. Both CARITAS and the
Representation agreed with the recommendation. It had been acted upon in the process of the
finalization of the sub-agreement for 2005 to ensure clarity and consistency in terms of
categories included in the number of direct beneficiaries. Although CARITAS was not
involved in major procurement activities, OIOS brought its attention to the case when for a
purchase with a value exceeding US$ 5,000, no formal tendering exercise had been
undertaken. OIOS recommended that CARITAS adhere to the Sub-Project Agreements and
procure goods in compliance with the UNHCR Implementing Partners Procurement
Guidelines. The Representation replied that CARITAS had agreed to adhere to the rules in
the future.
B. Other Programme Issues
Austrian Integration Fund
10. In the 1950s and 1960s UNHCR funded loans to co-finance the construction of homes
for refugees in Austria. These loans were administered by the Austrian Integration Fund (AIF)
managed by the Ministry of Interior (MOI) of Austria. At present, AIF is legally no longer
part of the Ministry of the Interior although a senior MOI official chairs the inter-ministerial
managing board in which UNHCR is also a member. The Fund cannot use any of the repaid
funds without prior UNHCR consent. As of 31 December 2003, the amount accumulated at
this savings account was Euro 897,000 (US$ 1.1 million). A proposal on the possible transfer
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and use of the funds for refugee related projects outside Austria was submitted by the
Representation to the Bureau for Europe in July 2004. At the time of the audit, no action has
been taken on this proposal.
11. OIOS recommended that the UNHCR Representation in Austria should make further
efforts to allow using the accumulated amount for UNHCR activities outside Austria and
reach an agreement on the modalities of transfer of the accumulated amount to a UNHCR
account, outside of the Fund, for the eventual use by UNHCR. The UNHCR Representation
stated that it was arranging for the remittance of the accumulated funds and subsequent
annual repayments to HQ. Subsequent to the audit, the Representative informed the Bureau
for Europe of his intention to instruct the AIF in writing to transfer the amount of
Euro 860,000 to the global UNHCR EUR account. The UNHCR Treasury had been informed
about this accordingly.
12. During the follow-up of the issue with the Bureau for Europe in April 2005, OIOS
learned that the amount had not yet been transferred and certain questions were raised by
Treasury concerning the status of the agreement with the Government. Therefore, further
consultations within UNHCR are needed. Since the funds coming from outside of the
UNHCR accounting system would be treated as income, a decision should be taken by the
Financial Resources Service on how to record this transfer.
Recommendation:
The UNHCR Bureau for Europe together with the
Financial Resources Service and the Division of External
Relations should determine the conditions and modalities
for the transfer of the fund balance of the Austrian
Integration Fund totalling some US$ 1.1 million and use
of funds for the projects outside Austria and communicate
this position to the Executive Manager of the Austrian
Integration Fund. The UNHCR Treasury should decide on
how to record this transfer (Rec. 01).
In its reply to the draft report, the Representation stated that implementation of
recommendation 1 was ongoing and proceeding in cooperation between UNHCR Bureau for
Europe and UNHCR Treasury. A letter to the Executive Manager of the AIF regarding the
remittance of the accumulated UNHCR funds would be drafted in June 2005. Pending the
outcome of this matter, OIOS keeps this recommendation open in its database.
Amounts of outstanding loans on UNHCR Financial Statements
13. Information from the AIF in Austria showed that the loan balances as per the end of
2003 amounted to some US$ 0.8 million. However, Note 11 to the 2003 UNHCR Financial
Statements mentioned an amount of some US$ 4.1 million as loans "Transferred to the
Refugee Committee established with the Austrian Ministry of the Interior." Clearly, this
reference was misleading as the related amount reflected the situation as of 1988 when a
transaction was made for a credit entry to zero-out the then loan balance in Austria (US$
4,105,721) from the UNHCR accounts.
14. OIOS referred to the 2003 and 2004 Board of Auditors Management Letters, which
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confirmed this situation and their recommendation that the Note should only list the
outstanding loans still repayable to UNHCR ("delete terminated loans from the accounts").
OIOS recommended that the Financial Resources Service clean the accounts accordingly and
revise the relevant Note to the Financial Statements to list only loans still collectable by
UNHCR. At present, these are only the loans from Germany with an unpaid balance
amounting to some US$ 780,000 in 2003. The Financial Resources Service agreed with the
recommendation and confirmed that the note to the accounts on the status of the refugee
loans as at 31.12.2004 had been revised accordingly.
Fundraising activities
15. Over the past years, UNHCR has witnessed a chronic lack of funds due to the fact that
it depends almost entirely on voluntary contributions. Austria, while being the fourth richest
country in the EU (in terms of GDP per capita) is not making a comparable contribution to
UNHCR. During the period of 1999 to 2003, it occupied 14th place among EU countries
(ranking between Greece and Portugal). Its contribution in 2002 reached the lowest level in
four preceding years and amounted to US$ 240,000. In 2003 it went up and reached US$
720,000. On the other hand, UNHCR expenditures in Austria (including staff costs) were US$
1.6 for the same year.
16. On 22 December 2003, the General Assembly recommended in its Resolutions
A/58/503 and A/58/410 the implementation of the 30 per cent base level model. Based on a
hypothetical annual budget of US$ 1 billion, 30 per cent of that budget was considered to be
the minimum requirement for UNHCR to maintain a skeleton structure. Calculations for
particular countries are based on the UN Regular Scale of Assessment. If the idea
materialized, the annual contribution for Austria would amount to some US$ 2.8 million. The
Representation in Austria informed its counterparts in the Foreign Ministry of Austria about
these developments.
17. At the same time, we noted that in order to achieve the successful implementation of
the model, a joint action plan had to be developed between the Representation and DRRMS.
During the time of the audit, such a plan had not yet been completed. The former and present
Representatives in Austria also planned to develop a comprehensive fundraising strategy for
Austria. We learned that such a strategy has not yet been developed.
18. The Representation commented that plans to work out a more comprehensive strategy
and actual plan in cooperation with DRRMS and BE were delayed though in 2004, since the
Austrian government counterparts went through a process of organizational restructuring not
leading to the required consolidation before the end of the year. The meeting between the
Europe Bureau and DRRMS of 14 January 2005 laid the internal basis at HQ for the
preparations and the necessary information flow, which a common and comprehensive
fundraising strategy requires for its implementation and to produce results. OIOS welcomes
this preparatory process but is of the opinion that the goals set in order to develop the strategy
and the action plan should be met.
Recommendation:
The UNHCR Representation in Austria, together with the
Bureau for Europe and the Division of External Relations,
should complete the development of a fundraising strategy
and a joint action plan for the implementation of the 30
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per cent base level model for Austria (Rec. 02).
In its reply to the draft audit report, the Representation stated that the Chief of
DRRMS had visited Austria in April 2005 and had held meetings with the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, the Austrian Development Agency and Austrian NGOs. A draft funding strategy is
already under discussion between the Division of External Relations, the Bureau for Europe
and the Representation in Austria and is expected to be finalized in June 2005. Pending its
finalization, OIOS keeps this recommendation open in its database.
Project management
19. UNHCR Austria did not perform project financial monitoring visits to CARITAS,
which should have taken place twice a year, including one in-depth review. Sub-Project
Agreements with CARITAS continued to be signed after the Effective Commencement Date,
although a recommendation to that effect had already been made by the Board of Auditors in
1999. Also, The Sub-Project Monitoring Reports were submitted by CARITAS with
considerable delays. The Representation agreed to improve project management and planned
to carry out a financial monitoring visit to Caritas in July 2005. It also engaged to fully
comply with previous and current audit recommendations on timely signing of project
documents and closely monitor the compliance of CARITAS with reporting deadlines.
C. Supply Management
Procurement of goods and services
20. In the procurement area, tendering procedures were not always followed by the
Representation. UNHCR Austria agreed to take corrective actions to further strengthen
control over the procurement function. Since 1997, the Representation has been hiring the
same IT expert for the provision of information technology services. In 2002-2004, US$
31,000 was expended for these services. However, no contract was ever signed with this
expert, although the Board of Auditors had raised the issue in 1999. The Representation
committed to formalize the engagement of IT services in accordance with UNHCR
procurement guidelines.
D. Security and Safety
21. The UNHCR Representation in Austria generally complied with the UN Security and
Safety procedures. However, the location of the Representation at the perimeter fence of the
Vienna International Centre right next to a roundabout with three public access roads at the
one end of the office building constitutes a residual danger. The distance between the
reinforced perimeter and the building is less than one meter. In 2003, UNOV proposed the
relocation of UNHCR back to the main building. UNHCR expressed its interest and
communicated the space requirements to UNOV. OIOS suggested that the UNHCR
Representation in Austria speed-up the negotiations with UNOV on the possibility of the
relocation. UNHCR Austria indicated that the Representation was in regular contact with
UNOV in preparation of the recommended implementation of the office move to the main
compound.
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E. Administration
22. As far as administration and finance were concerned, the UNHCR Representation in
Austria generally complied with UNHCR's regulations, rules, policies and procedures and
controls were operating effectively during the period under review. However, OIOS noted that
improvements were required in the area of financial signing authority. The Representation
indicated that the situation had already been rectified completely since the Representative no
longer signed any travel authorizations for himself, but rather the next most senior staff,
based on the prior written authorization from Headquarters. As to the travel within
operational area in Austria, the Bureau of Europe would issue the relevant authorization to
the Representative effective 1 June 2005.
V. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
23. I wish to express my appreciation for the assistance and cooperation extended to the
auditor by the staff of UNHCR and its implementing partners in Austria.
Egbert C. Kaltenbach, Chief
UNHCR Audit Service
Office of Internal Oversight Services
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